The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) today released its Investigations and Enforcement Report for the year ending 30 June 2014.

The report highlights the key themes and issues that emerged from the FMA’s enforcement activities during the reporting period. It also provides guidance and key learnings to financial market participants, to help them better understand the standards of behaviour and conduct expected in New Zealand’s financial markets.

This year’s report demonstrates that the FMA’s enforcement activities have been focused on a broad range of harms threatening financial markets including:

addressing the persistent failure by some issuers to file financial statements

completing the investigations into legacy finance company cases.

As well as providing statistics on the FMA’s enforcement activity, the report highlights the wide range of approaches the FMA has taken in responding to misconduct.

Belinda Moffat, FMA Director of Investigations and Enforcement said “while we have commenced a number of court proceedings to deal with serious misconduct, we have also used a wide range of other regulatory tools available to us. As well as issuing warnings, we have entered into settlements to achieve financial returns for investors where this has been in the public interest. We have also worked collaboratively with financial markets’ entities to resolve various issues of concern.”

“The facts of every matter we look at are unique. We carefully consider and exercise judgement in determining how the FMA, as the regulator, needs to respond to the situation. We strive to be consistent and transparent in exercising the powers that we have.

“The FMA’s intention is to raise investors’ confidence in the role of regulation and in our financial markets.”